Band cutter



S. V. COCHRANE.

BAND ER.

I APPLICATION Fl NE 30, 1921. I

4 1 7 4 Patented July 4, 1922.

EETS-SHEET I.

' 6. 6-K C0 cfifa/re ez 7 S. V; COCHRANE.

BAND CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED 'JUNE 30, I921. 1A2L764. Patented July 4,1922

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S. V. COCHRANE.

BAND CUTTER.

. I APPLICATION FILED IUNE 1921- I 1,421,764. Patented July 4, 1922 I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- no possibility of a bundle of uncut, through the cylinder and concave.

UNETED SANDERS V. CGCHRANE, OF BRIDGETOW II, TEXAS.

BAND CUTTER.

Application filed June 30,

T all 20 loom it may concern Be it known that I, SANDERS V. GooHRANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgetown, in the county of Wichita and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Band Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in band cutters for thrashing machines and has as one of its primary objects to so arrange the knives of the mechanism that there will be grain being fed,

The invention has as a further object to provide a novel means for mounting and securing the knives in position upon the knife shaft so that they will be securely held in the operation of the mechanism and yet Jmay be readily removed whenever it is required that they be sharpened.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the band cutter mechanism embodying the invention installed in a thrashing machine;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the cutter; Figure 3 is a detail view in elevation of the cutter shaft. the cutters being removed there from and the 'view illustrating in section certain parts which are assembled with the shaft;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view in detail on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a view illustrating a number of I thespacing sleeves which are arranged upon the cutter shaft and between the cutters or knives;

'Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the successive positions of the blades during their operation.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one member of the structure.

- In the drawings, the numeral lindicates in general so much of a thrashing machine as is necessary to illustrate the operation of the present invention, the machine being provided with the usual feeder or conveyor 2 upon which the bundles are placed and by which the bundles are fed to the'cutter.

The cutter mechanism includes a shaft indicated in general'by the numeral 3 and squared throughout the greater portion of its length. One end of the shaft, indicated "by'thenumeral a, is of cylindrical form and mounted in a suitable bearing 5 upon the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July at, 119277.

1921. Serial No. 481,602.

frame of the feeder this end of the shaft having keyed or otherwise secured thereon a pulley or the like indicated by the numeral 6 whereby power may be transmitted. A collar 7 is integrally formed or fixed upon the shaft 3 between its squared portion and its cylindrical end 4 and this collar constitutes an abutment for one end of the series of spacing sleeves and knives which are arranged upon the shaft as will be presently explained. The other end of the shaft?) is threaded as indicated by the numeral 8' and fitted onto this end of the shaft is an interiorly threaded sleeve 9 having a circular head 10 at one end. The sleeve I 9 is adapted to be rotated upon the said end 8 of the shaft after the spacing sleeves and knives have been assembled on the shaft and for the purpose of bringing its head 10 into binding engagement with one end one of the series of spacing sleeves, the other end one of the series of said sleeves resting against the abutment 7. The sleeve 9 is rotatably journaled in a bearing 11 upon the frame of the feeder and'is of a length to project at its outer end beyond theside of this bearing. A gear 12 is fitted upon the end '8 of the shaft by having its hub interiorly threaded, and after the sleeve 9 has been suitably adjusted upon the shaft to bind the series of spacing sleeves and knives, the gear 12 is rotated upon the shaft so as to be brought into binding engagement with the outer end of the sleeve 9 and thus hold the sleeve against accidental displacement.

The knives of the mechanism are indicated in general by the numeral 13 and are arranged between the opposing ends of spacin sleeves fitted onto the squared portion of the shaft 3. Certain of the spacing sleeves are indicated by the numeral 14 and others by the numeral 15, and of these latter there are two provided, one located at each end of the series of sleeves. Each of the sleeves 15 comprises a cylindrical body 16 having a squared axial bore 17 adapting the sleeve to be fitted onto the shaft 3 for rotation with the said shaft. The body 16 of the sleeve 15 has an end face 18 occupying a position at right angles to the axis of the body and adapted,

body 16 however is obliquely disposed with relation to the axis of the sleeve body and consequently in a plane non-parallel to the plane of the end face 18, the said oblique end face of the sleeve being indicated by the numeral 19. Each of the sleeves 1 1 comprises 7 a subsantially cylindrical body 20 having end faces 21 and 22 which are obliquely disbody is provided with an axial rectangular bore 23 adaptin the body to be fitted onto the squared portion of the shaft and held for rotation with the shaft, and the body 20 is provided at one end and at diametrically opposite sides of its bore 23 with sockets'2 1 preferably parallel to the axis of the shaft, spaced studs 25 being formed or provided upon the opposite end face of the body and so arranged and proportioned as to adapt the studs to fit into the sockets of adjacent sleeve sections when the sleeves are disposed upon the shaft. The sleeve bodies 15 are likewise provided one with studs corresponding with studs 25 and the other with sockets corresponding to the sockets 2 1 and indicated respectively by the numerals 26 and 27, this structure being best illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings and it being understood that in this figure a number of the spacing sleeves 14: are omitted as indicated by the broken line of the bracket enclosing the several component parts of said figure.

Each ofthe blades 13 is flat and of substantially uniform thickness throughout and each is of a marginal contour defining substantially an irregular elongated hexagon, the cutting edges of the knife or blade being indicated by the numeral 28 and being parallel to each other and extended on diagonal lines as most clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the back edges of the blade being indicated by the numeral 29 and being likewise parallel and extended at an obtuse angle to the adjacent cutting edges. Each blade 13 is formed midway between its ends with a rectangular opening 30 adapting the blade to be fitted onto the shaft 3 in a predetermined position and to be held for rotation with the shaft, it being understood that these openings 30 are so formed that the blades may assume a position in a plane oblique to the axis of the shaft as best illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings and thus be squarely received between the adjacent ends of adjacent ones of the spacing sleeves upon the shaft. Likewise the intermediate portion of each blade is formed with spaced openings 31 located at diametrically opposite sides of the opening 30 and designed to receive the studs 25 or 26 as the case may be so that not only is each blade connected with the shaft for rotation thereby by reason of the snug fit of the squared portion of the shaft in the opening 30 of the blade, but also the connection is braced by the engagement of the studs 25 or 26 through the openings 31 and thus each blade isheld in a secure manner and prevented from becoming displaced circumferentially of the shaft.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the draw.- ings and in this connection also to Figure 7, it is to be noted that the knives are assembled in a series in such manner that their longitudinal dimensions will alternately lie at right angles throughout the series, and the advantages of this arrangement of the knives as well as the arrangement whereby they are disposed obliquely to the axis of the shaft will be readily apparent from the said Figure 7 which is of a more or less diagrammatic character, the broken lines dropped from the several component parts of this figure to the horizontal parallel lines at the bottom indicating clearly the periods in each revolution of the knife shaft at which one or the other of the cutting edges of each knife becomes effective. By referring to the-lower terminals of the said broken lines, it will'be evident that as the diagonal cutting edges of the knivesbecome successively effective in the rotation of the knife shaft, these edges will strike any bundles or grainwhich may be upon the feeder 2, at spaced points so that it is certain that the cutting edges of one or another of the knives will strike and cut the band of any bundle of grain being fed into the machine upon the endless belt of the feeder 2. It will likewise be evident that because of the oblique disposition of the knives with relation to the axis of the knife shaft, the grain of each bundle, after cutting of the band, will be whipped or combed in a lateral direction and the grain thus fed or evenly distributed over the'upper stretch of the belt of the feeder 2 so that the mechanism serves not only its primary function of cutting the bands of the bundles but also the additional function of a spreader or comber for distributing and suitably spreading out the grain so that the grain will not be fed in a mass and in a manner which would be liable to clog the machine.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft. spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and having their ends non-correspondingly obliquely disposed, and knives interposed between the ends of the sleeves.

2. 'In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft, spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and each having its ends obliquely disposed with relation to the axis of the sleeve and in non-parallel planes, and knives interposed between the ends of the sleeves.

3. In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft, spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and having their ends non-correspondingly obliquely disposed, and knives interposed between the'ends of the sleeves and occupying the planes thereof and having diagonally oppositely located cutting edges.

4. In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft, spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and each having its ends obliquely disposed with relation to the axis of the sleeve and in nonparallel planes, and knives interposed between the ends of adjacent sleeves and occupying substantially the plane thereof and having portions projecting at diametrically opposite sides of the shaft and provided with cutting edges presented in the direction of rotation of the shaft.

5. In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft, spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and each having its ends obliquely disposed with relation to the axis of the sleeve and in non-parallel planes, and knives interposed between the ends of adjacent sleeves and occupying substantially the plane there of and having portions projecting at diametrically opposite sides of the shaft and provided with cutting edges presented in the direction of rotation of the shaft, the cutting edges being obliquely disposed and diagonally oppositely located.

6. In band cutter mechanism, a rotatable shaft, spacing sleeves fitted onto the shaft and held for rotation therewith and having their ends non-correspondingly obliquely disposed, the said ends of the sleeves having studs and sockets, the latter receiving the former, and the knives having openings receiving the studs whereby a positive connection is provided between each knife and the spacing sleeves between which it is held.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature.

SANDERS V. COCHRANE. [L.s.] 

